Lovecrafted Confections
by whathappenedtoelliecreed18
Summary: "Searchers after horror often haunt strange, far places." -H.P. Lovecraft. Follow Bella Swan, an eccentric bakery owner, as she tries to navigate the tumultuous waters of love. AH, AU, OOC. Rated M for language and some lemony goodness in later chapters. Please read and review!
1. Prologue

**Hi y'all, it's been FOREVER since I've written anything, but I've had this story stuck in my head for months now and just can't seem to shake the plot bunnies, so here's the prologue; a short, sweet little teaser. I'm about halfway finished with the first chapter, so it should be up very soon.**

 **Let me know what you think, loves!**

Prologue:

It was pure chaos. Madness. Utter anarchy. A melee. It was Walmart in rural Washington the Saturday before Halloween. Bella Swan took a deep breath to steel herself before slipping out of her behemoth of a truck. A crisp autumn wind whipped her hair into her face, and she tucked it back behind her ears again and hiked the collar of her linen shirt up to protect her neck from the cold.

She had a long day, or rather a long month. Bella owned and operated a Seattle-based bakery and cafe called Lovecrafted Confections (Lovecraft's for short). There, she and a small group of employees created horror, true crime, and generally spooky themed desserts. October, as one can guess, was her busiest month of the year, although her Kreepy Krampus Days leading up to Christmas definitely kept the patrons pouring in.

A smile slipped across Bella's face as she watched two young boys, probably 7 or 8, sword fighting with the foam swords that were in abundance in the costume aisle of this particular Walmart. As she scanned the small plastic packs of costumes, she crossed her fingers, praying that there would still be what she needed in stock.

"Aha!" She cried with glee as she plucked one down from the hook and tossed it into her cart so she could continue with her shopping.

After she was able to gather all of her necessities, she packed them into her ancient truck and headed the rest of the way to her father's home in Forks. It was a dark, clear night, the clarity was fairly rare for the region, and she found herself getting distracted looking at the smattering of stars. Her body must have been going on autopilot as she pulled into the crumbling asphalt driveway; she was shocked that the drive went so quickly.

Bella slipped out of the truck, rolling her eyes at the distance before she actually hit the ground. Fuck being short.

Before she was even able to get a hand on the door knob, a bouncing ball of energy hit her straight in the midsection with a screeched "Momma!"


	2. Chapter 1: What's Your Name?

Chapter 1

"Hey Bells," Charlie Swan gave his daughter a small smile, mostly hidden by his large moustache. She was currently tickling the ribs of a squealing 6 year old, both of them laughing loudly and freely. Charlie reveled in the sound. It had been a while since he had heard both his daughter and grandson sound so happy.

"Hi dad!" She chirped as she swung her son up over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, making the little boy giggle. "How was Garrett?"

Garrett was a perky little kid, with bright blue eyes and a mop of shiny brown curls. He had his father's dimples and his mother's flushed cheeks. In other words, he was pretty damn cute, and Bella definitely had her hands full.

"I was such a good helper for ganpa!" Garrett wiggled around on her shoulder until she sat him down on the kitchen counter beside her. Her heart swelled as he laid his head on her shoulder. She looked up at her dad, who stood, cross-armed in the doorway with a smile on his face.

"He was great. He was out like a light last night and helped me make breakfast. Which he actually ate." Charlie raised his eyebrows and Bella did as well; Garrett was a notoriously finicky eater. "He was wound for sound all day today, so he should crash soon."

Almost as if on cue, Garrett's head started to feel heavy on her shoulder. She grinned down at her little man who looked awfully close to falling asleep. "Thanks for watching him, dad. Things have just been so crazy at the bakery right now, and I know that he couldn't handle getting up at four with me this morning."

"Bells, you know he is always welcome, hell you both are, if you need to get away. I really enjoyed having him. Don't be such a stranger." Charlie smiled again, but this one was wan. Since Bella lived almost four hours away, he didn't get nearly enough grandbaby time, unless it was a holiday or a really busy time for the young mother.

Bella winced, guilt crawling up her throat, "We'll be around more once things settle down, I promise. Thinks have just been…hard right now."

Garrett slipped his pinky into his mouth; it was his tell that he was dangerously close to dreamland. Bella scooped him up into her arms, breathing in his scent deeply. She hated being away from her little boy. It was the two of them against the world. Obviously not literally, but they were incredibly tight.

"I'll call you later about getting together for Thanksgiving." Charlie leaned in to plant a kiss on Garrett's tiny cheek and pulled Bella in for a hug, which she returned.

"Thanks, dad." Bella smiled and gently walked her way out to her truck, careful not to jar the kid passed out cold on her shoulder. She tucked him into his car seat with a blanket, buckling him in securely. Once she was on the road again, she found herself deep in thought about how she got to where she was.

Bella grew up a shy awkward kid. She didn't have an abundance of friends, but she managed not to be a total loner. She was really close to her mother, Renee, who was a free spirit in every sense of the word. She got Bella hooked on the macabre at a very young age, so Bella had grown up as a Wednesday Addams look alike.

She smiled as she remembered all of the late nights wrapped up in blankets with her mom watching the cheesiest of horror movies, followed by the greats: the Exorcist, Halloween, Evil Dead, and way too many more than should have been deemed appropriate for a five year old.

It was horror that had drawn her to her husband, Emmett McCarty. They had met in high school while she was actually out on a date with someone else. They were seeing the newest teen scream in theaters. The date had gone south very quickly and Bella found herself without a way home, and sitting on the curb outside the theater, waiting for her dad to get off work so she could call him for a ride.

 **Flashback: 10 Years Previously**

 _After about fifteen minutes of sitting on the curb, Bella felt a nudge at her elbow. She looked up to see a hulking teenage boy with the cutest dimples, smiling down at her. She could feel her face flush as she just sat there looking at him. He held out his hand, and in it was a bag of sour gummy worms. She grinned back as she took one, and he took a seat on the curb next to her._

" _Just what are you doing out here all by yourself?" The teenage hulk asked her jovially. Bella ducked her head and blushed, picking at a hole in her jeans. She could feel the heat radiating off of him next to her._

" _First date gone horrendously wrong," she mumbled quietly. The mystery man bumped her shoulder with his with a chuckle._

" _His loss is my gain, right?" He turned that megawatt smile on her and she momentarily got lost in his baby blues. She had to shake her head a little bit to clear it, and then looked the rest of him over. He was wearing a simple blue flannel button down shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans and black Converse. The flannel was stretched tight across his shoulders and chest. She audibly gulped and hoped to god that she wasn't drooling._

 _She laughed awkwardly and nodded minutely. He took it as a sign to keep going._

" _So what happened with your loverboy that was so terrible that he abandoned you here on the sidewalk?" He said it lightly and jokingly enough that it didn't make it so painfully awkward for her to explain why she was still alone._

" _Well…he seemed to have missed the memo about how you go to the movies to actually watch the movie. He was pretty bummed that I wasn't going to let him try and eat my face off my skull the whole time. Who does that? He dragged me out to the lobby to bitch at me over it. And I left my fucking purse in his car. I just wanted to watch 1408, dammit." She ended her rant with a small huff. The huge man beside her let out a booming laugh as he stood up._

 _Her eyes followed him over to the movie listings that were posted by the door of the theater. She rolled her eyes. He was probably just killing time until he was supposed to meet someone._

 _Bella was startled as he reached a hand down to her with a smile. She took it, enjoying the warmth, and allowed him to pull her up off the curb. Something about his big grin set her nerve endings alight and quelled her anxieties simultaneously. Her seventeen year old heart was beating way too fast than could be considered healthy._

" _We're going to go see 1408. There's another showing starting in 5 minutes." She almost didn't hear him because her small hand was still wrapped up in his large, warm one. Bella peered up at him with wide eyes._

" _You don't have to do that!" She took the time to really see how tall he was compared to her 5'2" frame. He was a giant! At least 6'3" and was built like a linebacker. The smile on his face, the dimples, and the curly black hair contrasted drastically with his build. He looked like a domesticated bear._

" _Yeah, well, I want to. Humor me, beautiful." Well, there's no argument for that._

 _Bella allowed him to lead her to the theater, and automatically picked where she would have, the very top center of the theater seats and they settled in in an amiable silence. Together, they enjoyed the movie, sharing a pack of gummy worms._

 _When the movie was over, she smiled up at him, both still sitting in their seats while the credits rolled. "You totally saved my night. Thanks, first-date guardian angel."_

 _He boomed out another laugh. "Of course the pleasure was all mine. I actually came here to watch it by myself, but your company made it so much better."_

" _Well, I really had a good time." Time seemed to slow down as he brushed her long, espresso colored hair behind her ear._

 _Bella bit her lip, interrupting the moment. "I should really get going home. My parents have to be worried by now."_

" _Need a ride?" His grin lit up his entire face as Bella continued to worry her bottom lip between her teeth. Bella thought to herself, what in the hell am I thinking? Am I really going to take a ride from a stranger. The devil on her left shoulder cut off the angel on her right:_ hell yes you are.

" _I could really use one."Bella grinned up at the beastly teenager. They left the theater and made light conversation until she balked at his car. Well…it wasn't even really a car. It was this monster Jeep that she literally had to climb up into._

 _The ride to her house was in companionable silence, Bella only interrupted the quiet to give directions to her small clapboard house that she lived in with her parents. She was just glad that her father wasn't home to question her about leaving with one boy and coming home with another._

 _When they reached the driveway, her savior leaned across the console to once again tuck her hair behind her ear, she smirked. This must be his signature kiss move. Her smirk was wiped off her face as he dropped a delicate kiss to her lips, much gentler than one could expect from such a hulk of a man._

" _My name's Emmett. What's yours?"Her gasp was drowned out by his peals of laughter._

" _Oh my god! I didn't even ask your fucking name! You could have killed me! I can't believe I got into a car with a stranger!"_

 _Emmett kept laughing like a maniac while she was gasping in disbelief at herself. "I won't be a stranger if we do this again. As a date."_

" _I guess I don't value self preservation as much as I thought I did…so what the hell? Let's do it." Bella had a wide grin on her face when she leaned in and pecked him on the cheek, before snatching a receipt out of the console and scribbling her number._

 _She hopped down out of the Jeep and he yelled at her again, "What's your name, mystery girl?"_

" _It's Bella." She tossed over her shoulder with a laugh as she opened the door to her house._

 **Flashback Over**

Bella looked back in her back seat through the rearview view, a little misty eyed. Emmett would be so proud of Garrett. Her sleeping baby was the reason she got out of bed every morning. He was all that she had left.

Bella and Emmett had dated for a few years, getting married when they were twenty, and Garrett following closely behind after a year or so of marriage. When Garrett came along, Emmett enlisted in the Marines. He was a damn good soldier, and an even greater father and husband. Bella loved her little family dearly, but missed Emmett with every fiber of her being when he was deployed.

For a while, it was only short deployments, maybe a month or so at a time, so Bella was always fortunate in that. Her mother came and stayed with them while he was away, giving Bella time to pursue her degree in the culinary arts.

When Garrett was four, Emmett didn't come home. Two men in their dress blues came and knocked on the door of their small apartment, clasping a folded flag and wearing matching solemn faces.

For a long time, Bella was in a daze. She didn't know what to do with her time. Her sun had dimmed, leaving her world dark and murky. In the year following Emmett's death, she had baked like a fiend, having finally finished up her degree and worked toward becoming a pastry chef.

A year after that, they lost her mother in a car accident. It had been the final nail in the coffin for Bella. She had snapped out of her daze. She had begun to live again because if there was anything her mother ever wanted her to do, it was to live a full life.

With the small amount of life insurance that had been paid out to her, Bella purchased a retail spot in downtown Seattle with a small, quaint walk-up apartment. For a summer, she and her father renovated and whipped the space into bakery shape. It was like her world had brightened and it had life again. Lovecraft's was her mother's legacy where she served both her mother's and Emmett's favorite sweets.

The drive from Forks to Seattle was shorter than normal with the trip down memory lane, soon pulling into the small garage across the alley from her shop. She gently scooped her drooling baby out of the back seat, looping her Walmart bags over her wrists.

Bella was fantastic at multitasking at this point. She managed to fumble her keys out of her small, UFO covered purse and unlock the door leading to the steps to their apartment. As soon as they were through the door, Bella's guard boxer, Maggie, sniffed them enthusiastically as if to make sure they were both safe and sound.

"Hey Mags, I'll get you out in just a minute, okay?" Bella scratched behind her ears and dropped her shopping bags.

Walking as gently as possible, Bella strode to Garrett's small bedroom and laid him in his bed. She let Maggie out into the small patch of grass behind the building to do her business before returning to Garrett's room, waking him carefully.

"Wanna say night night to daddy, buddy?" Bella stoked the soft curls out of his face as he opened those giant baby blues and nodded sleepily. Bella grabbed the framed picture of Emmett off the nightstand; he was grinning stupidly into the camera, blue eyes glimmering in the photo, and brought it over to her and Garrett. Garrett mumbled out a sleepy "g'night, dad," and planted a kiss on it.

It had been their routine for two years now, and Bella had made the mistake of letting Garrett go to bed without saying goodnight to Emmett's picture once. She cringed at the memory of the colossal tantrum that Garrett threw and promised herself that she'd never forget again.

She also laid a quick kiss to the frame, sending up a quick prayer before she made her way into her own bed, falling into it fully clothed. It couldn't have been more than two minutes before Bella was out cold, finally resting for the first time that day.


	3. Chapter 2: Batman & Robin

Chapter 2:

"Oh, just fuck it," Bella muttered to herself as she tried to get this one piece of hair on the top of her head to just lie down.

"Ooh! You've gotta put a dollar in the swear jar, momma!" Garrett cackled from his spot on her bed where he was curled up with Maggie. She just sighed amusedly and wondered why in the hell she ever decided to start a swear jar. Oh. That's right. Garrett's first word was "damn."

It was bound to be a long afternoon at Lovecraft's. Tonight was their neighborhood's trick or treat night, so they were having some activities at the shop for the kids going all day today. She had planned out some games, and the treats were all a little more kid-friendly for this evening, rather than some of the more outlandish things that they normally served—severed head cake pops in honor of Ed Kemper and special red and black, Satanic cannoli for Richard Ramirez come to mind. Instead, there were ghost cookies and eyeball macaroons. See? Totally kid-friendly.

Sundays were normally their days off, since the shop was closed, but this was a special thing, so they didn't open until 6 p.m. that evening.

She had promised Garrett that they could be Batman and Robin this year. It was hard as hell to find a Robin costume that wasn't supposed to be sexy. She did not want to be sexy as she and her kid were out begging for candy. Last year, they had gone as Superman and Wonder Woman, which was something that she could totally get behind.

"Bella!" A tinkling call came from the kitchen of their apartment.

"We're here, Ali!" I yelled back as both Maggie and Garrett took off, barreling down the hallway toward Bella's best friend, and sister-in-law.

Alice had been a godsend the past few years. They held each other together after Emmett's death. She had been a bouncing ray of sunshine after her world had seemingly collapsed around her.

Alice was a small, slender woman, who could only be described as a pixie. It was always fun to watch her on Halloween, because she was only ever Tinkerbell. On this particular morning, Tinkerbell was hauling an unmasked Batman through the apartment by his ankles. Bella grinned at her and she tossed Garrett onto the bed, laughing as he squealed in delight.

"Wow, Bells! You look great!" Alice let out a slow wolf whistle as Bella quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Thanks, Ali," Bella replied skeptically. She hadn't ever quite gotten her groove back after having Garrett. She'd had a rough pregnancy and it wreaked havoc on her body, so she still hasn't been able to locate her missing self esteem.

She peered at herself in the mirror with a shrug. She was short, but not drastically so. She was slightly overweight, never having quite lost the pregnancy weight, plus working with sweets every day, she had gotten slightly fluffier than she used to be. It was proportional, making her curves softer and more pronounced. She had a fairly large rack and a small enough waist. Her ass, however, was her favorite part of herself. She was proud of her bubble butt.

Bella dealt with her self-esteem problems the same way that a lot of women do: tattoos. She had tattoos and piercings peppering her entire body. The first one she ever got was an outline of the constellation of Ursa Minor on her ribcage, right under her heart. Emmett had Ursa Major tattooed on his chest, so she went with the little bear to match right after they first got married. She had a full-color sleeve of horror icons on her left arm, and a large, black sleeve of flowers outlined on her right arm. Garrett liked to sit with sharpies and color them in on slow days in the shop.

She had many more, but the most noticeable was her chest piece. It was a traditional style chest piece with two huge black swans that met in the middle in a gorgeous center of flowers. It was her most recent and her favorite piece.

Bella eyed herself in her Robin costume, tattoos peaking out of the costume on just about every piece of bare skin that showed. She had ended up having to buy a costume online from a cosplayer who appreciated not having the T&A always on display. It was flattering, yet there was minimal cleavage and built-in leggings.

She shrugged and went back to trying to fix her hair. She had great hair, it was long, dark brown, and fell into loose curls that framed her heart-shaped face. She looked at her face, her big round brown eyes popped out behind her cloth mask and she had just finished painting her lips a dark metallic green to match her costume.

Alice, thankfully, took the curling iron from Bella's hands and pulled her hair up into a tight, high pony tail, quickly solving her conundrum.

"Thanks, Ali." Bella smiled brightly as she collected her purse into her arms as well as her schedule for the day.

Alice and Garrett followed her to the front of the store where she was met by a cat, a vampire, and Spiderman. She grinned widely at her rag-tag band of employees.

Angela, a local college student, was dressed as a pretty cute cat. She ran the register and helped keep the front of house in order. The vampire was her business partner, Edward, who also happened to be Alice's husband. He was second in command who ran the bakery whenever she wasn't there. Spidey was her main baker, pure genius in a teenage boy package. She had initially hired Seth as a busboy/extra hand, but the second that she tasted his tarts and cupcakes, he was bumped immediately up to the head of the baking process. He was studying under her as an intern.

"Alright guys, we've got a ton of shit going on tonight. Are you all good with it?" She pulled a twenty out of her purse and gave it to Garrett to put in his swear jar. His eyes about popped out of his head as he scurried up to the kitchen in their apartment, where the jar was nearly stuffed to the gills. Alice just snickered and turned back to their little powwow.

"So, since I have to take little man trick or treating, you all will be here manning the ship. I've got to take him out here in about ten minutes." Bella glanced quickly at her phone before tucking it back into her bra.

Garrett came thundering back down the steps, carrying his trick or treat bucket and backup pillowcase. Her heart swelled as he pulled his mask down over his curls. He looked exactly like a miniature Emmett. It's times like these that she has to take a minute just to stare at him. He bumped his shoulder into her hip, grinning up at her, dimples and all, showing off his missing front tooth.

Thankfully, Edward noticed her moment and directed her staff into their various roles for the evening. She picked up Garrett, hugging him tight, willing her eyes not to tear up. Garrett, always excited for some extra love, wrapped his little arms around her neck.

"Love you, bub." She kissed the side of his head.

"Love you too, momma." Bella swung him around once, loving the sound of his giggle, before placing him on the ground.

"Are you ready for some serious candy, little man?" She fixed his mask and wiped some smudged lipstick off of his cheek. The ensuing shriek could have broken glass as her tiny son ran toward the door at full speed.

Halloween was always one of Bella's favorite holidays. Halloween was always the day where she could be as spooky as she wanted to be. She loved all of the decorations, and costumes, and just the fall atmosphere made Bella sigh with happiness. She planned on wearing her full Wednesday Addams getup while working in the shop tomorrow on the actual day of Halloween.

At the urging of a hyperactive six year old, she pulled her ponytail tight, straightened her shoulders, and readied herself to rake in the candy with her favorite munchkin.

 **A/N: So sorry for the short chapter! I hope to have another one out tomorrow to make up for it. Please drop a line! Happy New Year, everyone! 3**


	4. Chapter 3: Scuffs & Snark

Fall was always an enchanting time of year for Bella Swan. Everything was in transition. The leaves were changing, there was a buzz of excitement in the air for the upcoming holiday season, and, most of all, it was the time of year where you can go bug complete strangers for candy.

Laughing, she ran out of her shop and onto the sidewalk, following the little Batman who was ready to raid the neighborhood. Garrett was almost vibrating with excitement. He definitely came by it honest.

 _Flashback – 6 years ago_

" _Come on, Bella!"_

 _Bella rolled her eyes as her man-child of a husband was preparing to drag her out for a night of Trick or Treating. She readjusted her habit. Bella was dressed up as a pregnant nun, complete with fishnets. Bella was about 8 months pregnant with Garrett at that point and was completely content sitting on their small front porch, handing out candy._

" _I'm coming, hold on, you dork!" She skipped down the steps to see Emmett decked completely out as the devil. He wore a red spandex bodysuit with a tail and horns. It took all she had not to fall onto the steps laughing._

 _Emmett grinned widely at her and stalked toward her. "A naughty nun?"_

" _What can I say? The devil made me do it." Bella smirked and collected the large mixing bowl full of treat bags and miniature candy bars, ready to face the masses._

"Mom! Come on!" Garrett turned around with an exasperated look on his face, he outpaced her by almost 20 feet. It shook Bella from memory lane and she just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't go too far, Garrett." Bella said as sternly as she could manage with a smile on her face. Garrett nodded and turned back toward the street that was flooded with children.

After about an hour, the crowds were still going strong, and Bella kept having to reel Garrett in about getting too far away from her. He just wanted to keep running down the sidewalk, his bag of candy shaking at his side.

While Bella was trying to keep such a close eye on Garrett, she missed the uneven chunk of sidewalk that was right in front of her. The toe of her boot caught, effectively throwing her unmercifully to the ground.

She let out an ungraceful "Fuck!" as she hit the ground, but pushed herself up off the ground. People around her were looking on concerned, but she just smiled and waved them off.

Her hands were scuffed and her knees were bleeding from the fall, but she looked for Garrett, figuring he had seen her fall and stopped to wait up. She scanned the crowd of kids and parents, but couldn't see her little Batman anywhere.

"Garrett!" She called repeatedly, trying to keep her voice even, regardless of how the panic was building inside.

Bella began to rush through the crowd, screaming for Garrett and asking parents if they'd seen him. None had. Tears began streaking down her face, soaking the mask that she forgot she was wearing. Worst case scenarios began running through her mind while she tried to calm her racing heart. He probably just wandered ahead. She'd find him. No question. The only thing she could hear was her boots slamming the pavement as she yelled for her baby.

Her heart almost stopped when she heard a faint "Mommy!" coming from behind her. Bella whirled around and saw her little man sticking out from above the crowd. Once she got closer, she realized that he was seated comfortably on the shoulders of a man dressed up as a cop.

"Garrett!" She yelled out in relief, running towards him. The stranger plucked him from his shoulders and passed the squirming kid to his mother. Bella closed her eyes and let out the breath that she felt like she'd been holding forever.

It wasn't until she made sure that Garrett was okay that she looked up at the man who helped her little boy. The first thing she realized was that he was not just dressed up as a cop, he was a cop.

A very tall, lanky cop. She made it to his face and almost did a double take. He was gorgeous. Blonde curly hair that fell over his forehead, green eyes, and very full pink lips. His face was ruggedly handsome and angular, with cheekbones so sharp, they could cut a man.

Tall, blonde, and coppy held Bella with a look of disdain that made her shrink back, hugging Garrett to her side. For a moment, she was worried about receiving a lecture, until she found her backbone.

"Thank you for helping my son, officer…?" Bella trailed off in question. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she waited for him to supply her with a name. Of course, she could easily have read his nametag, but where was the fun in that?

"Whitlock. Lieutenant Whitlock." He offered with an edge to his tone, his expression unreadable. Bella's eyebrows almost reached her hairline. _Damn. He was really young for a lieutenant._

"Okay, lieutenant. Thanks again," Bella responded, somewhat disjointed. She set her shoulders and gave him her best "I don't like you, but I'm being nice anyways" grin, "If you're ever in the neighborhood, come visit our shop, we're Lovecraft's on Sycamore, and we'll treat you to breakfast, Lieutenant."

At her offer, Garrett beamed and bounced in her arms, bringing a soft cast to the otherwise steely eyes of the cranky man in front of them.

"Well, have a safe rest of your evening," Whitlock replied stiffly, not acknowledging her offer of thanks, and left the two of them standing on the sidewalk.

Bella only rolled her eyes so hard she thought she would strain something. Garrett laid his small head on her shoulder, letting out a monstrous yawn and slipping his pinky into his mouth. Bella kissed his head and murmured quietly in her best Alfred impression, "Let's get you home, Master Wayne."

It wasn't until she had Garrett safely in her arms and the adrenaline fading quickly from her body that she realized just how badly her hands and knees fucking _hurt_. There was also a spot on her daintily pointed chin that had begun to sting, and she had to think back on her fall to determine if she scraped her face. When she touched it, she winced and brought her hand away from the scratch, her fingers were coated in blood.

The walk back to their home was a long one. Bella was surprised to see just how far she'd run while trying to find Garrett. By the time she reached Lovecraft's, she was exhausted, emotionally and physically.

Thoughts of tall, blonde, and handsome plagued her on the hour walk back to the shop. _What was his problem? Glaring at me like I was some absentee parent who can't take care of her kid._ She scoffed to herself before her face fell into a deep scowl. _I'm a good parent. My kid loves me._

Longing panged roughly in her chest, making her stop short a block away from Lovecraft's. She sniffed harshly to prevent crying. She needed Emmett. Bella missed him so wholly that some evenings the ground could open up and swallow her whole and she'd be okay with it.

Garrett needed a father, but Bella couldn't conceive dating anyone when she still only had eyes for her late husband. It put her into a corner, but she tried to play both sides of the parental roles as completely as she could. Her father also contributed to the best that his work schedule allowed. Garrett almost lost his mind when Bella offered to accompany him on his Cub Scout's Father-Son Campout that summer, so her dad thankfully stepped in to take him. It had broken Bella's heart that a goddamn campout was Garrett's first realization that he didn't have what most other boys did.

Bella stifled a groan as her thoughts fell to all of the failed set-ups that she had to endure at the hands of Alice. Some of the men were nice, but some were downright odd. She shivered when she recalled the last date she went on; the date that made her call it quits with the dating scene. The asshole had the gall to ask her—mind you, it was three minutes after they had first met—just how far her tattoos went on her chest, and the dude was so not smooth enough to be so forward. It was then that she decided that she had enough in her life to be content. She had her son, her business, and a dog. Besides, men were easily replaceable with a piece of plastic and some batteries.

There were a few customers still left in the shop when she returned and Seth gave her a wide grin when she passed through the doors. His smile immediately fell when he saw the blood on her chin and expression on her face.

"Jesus, Bella! Are you alright?" He exclaimed, his voice making her cringe even further. Garrett flinched from his perch on her shoulder, but blessedly stayed sleeping, and she cut a sharp glare at Seth who immediately looked apologetic.

Bella sighed and nodded, holding up one finger to signal that she'd be back in a moment. She carried her sleeping son up the stairs and deposited him into his bed. She gently woke him to say goodnight to Emmett and she kissed him on the forehead and bade him goodnight. Maggie hopped up onto his bed and stretched her lean body along Garrett's, mirroring his position with her head sharing his pillow.

Bella smiled softly at the pair. Maggie had been a present from Emmett a month before they found out that she was pregnant with Garrett, so Garrett was Maggie's pride and joy. She followed him everywhere and protected him with the ferocity of a bear with her cubs. Bella leaned down and kissed Maggie's head, grinning when Maggie let out the signature boxer sigh and licked her hand.

Bella softly closed the door to her apartment and descended the stairs to Lovecraft's, hoping to catch up with her team and take full advantage of the more intricate first aid kit behind the counter of the bakery.

When she reached the dining area, all of the customers had cleared out, and it was only Seth and Edward left in the building, both nursing coffee and inhaling sandwiches. Seth winced when he caught her eye, and she tried to smile reassuringly while searching for the first aid kit.

"What happened, Bella?" Edward asked, concern tinging his voice. His brows were furrowed and a frown was set into his delicate features.

"I tripped," Bella shrugged. "Hit the ground pretty hard. Garrett got away from me and I couldn't find him for about half an hour. Luckily this douche of a cop found him." Her last word was a hiss of pain as she rinsed her hands in the sink that was normally used for washing coffee cups. She gingerly examined the scrapes and applied a thick coating of bacitracin to the raw spots.

"Well, I'm glad you found him. Come here and let me look at your chin." Edward threw away the trash from his meal and beckoned her toward him. "Seth, could you grab her a cup of coffee? And maybe make it Irish? Are you hungry, love?"

Bella hesitated for a moment, assessing her level of hunger before nodding appreciatively. Edward called to Seth to bring her an everything bagel with cream cheese and ham, one of her favorite snacks.

Edward Cullen had been one of Bella's best friends since her first year of culinary school. She had actually introduced him to Alice. He had a degree in restaurant management, and she would be eternally grateful for his part-time help at Lovecraft's. He split his time between Lovecraft's and a pub across town. Frequently, when he came in to help, he was carrying some of the best wings on this side of the Mississippi for them to eat for lunch.

With a wince, Bella presented her chin to Edward and pulled her tear-dampened mask off. She rolled her eyes, knowing that she looked like a drunk raccoon.

"Bells, you might need stitches. This looks really deep." He was gently dabbing at the bloody mess that she had ignored in her efforts to get home.

"I sure fucking hope not. I don't have insurance." Bella mumbled crankily, flinching when he used an alcohol pad to clean the scrape. "Just patch me up, doc. I'll go to the clinic tomorrow if need be.

Seth returned to the table where they were seated, presenting Bella with a toasted bagel and some whiskey-ed up coffee before plonking down beside Edward.

Edward let go of her chin long enough for her to grab a slurp of coffee and a bite a bagel before going back to work on a small bandage.

"How was Garrett with everything?" Seth asked curiously, taking a sip of his iced latte. It was around ten and all of them were drinking coffee. Bella groaned to herself when she realized how wired she'd be all night.

"Oh, you know him. The sun shines out his ass 24/7. He had no idea that anything was even wrong. The cop was carrying him around on his shoulders. Garrett was in heaven." She chuckled briefly. "How did it go tonight?"

At her question, Seth's chest puffed out with pride. "We sold every. Damn. Thing. All of it!" Bella's jaw dropped slightly in disbelief. She was doing a pretty good impression of a gold fish. She kept trying to think of what to say and words just escaped her.

"What?" She gasped in disbelief. She'd only been in business for a year.

"We cleared three-grand tonight, Bella." Edward had a shit eating grin on his face. "Between the coffee, and the baked goods, and sandwiches. And we have a shitload of pre-orders for cakes with deposits. So many people didn't even know we were here. I expect business to pick up substantially."

"So, we have nothing in the bakery?" Her eyes widened overwhelmingly while the men shook their heads. They'd have their work cut out for them tomorrow. "Okay, Seth, what do you say to having your first day of real work tomorrow?"

He balked. "Real work? Bella! What do you think I've been doing here?!" He was well and truly alarmed.

She laughed evilly. "You've never had to completely replenish stock before. I've also had a couple of new recipes floating around, so I want to take tomorrow to pilot them."

"I suppose." He grumbled. "What time do you want me here?"

"Nine would work for me. I have to get Garrett to school. I'll have breakfast made for you when you come in."

Seth grinned. Bella had become his surrogate mom of sorts since he had begun working for her. He took the job with Bella when he graduated high school, and was forced to leave home by his stepfather, who he lived with after his mother passed away. Bella always made sure he had food to eat, clean clothes, and enough money to pay his electric bill.

"Okay. I guess I'll be here." He sighed dramatically, giving her a smile.

"You better be here! We're starting on some Christmas recipes tomorrow to try and work out the kinks before it actually gets here." She pinned him with a mock glare. "Get home and get some sleep. You're going to need it."

Seth nodded and gave her a playful salute.

"Do you need a ride home?" She asked him with concern and he shook his head smiling.

"Eddork is taking me," he snickered, barely dodging the swipe that Edward aimed at him.

"Okay, guys. You get home. It's late and all of the nutcases will be out tonight." She gave them both a stern, matronly glare that was undercut by her small smile.

"Night, Bells. Care to make it breakfast for three? I have some shit to do here to get ready for the next week." Edward rose from his seat across from her and gave her a small hug.

"Sure! I'll make sugar waffles."

At her statement, Seth groaned in anticipation. "Damn, woman. You make me actually want to come to work in the morning."

"What can I say? I'm persuasive." She smirked from behind her mug before taking a deep pull of the spiked coffee. "Be sure to lock up when you leave. I'm heading back upstairs."

She bid them both goodnight before trudging back upstairs to her apartment. Maggie heard her ascent and was waiting patiently in the living room for her. Bella gave her a scratch behind the ears before proceeding to the refrigerator to pull out the treat that she had saved for herself.

The double dark chocolate mousse was her mother's favorite, and Bella felt her mother with her as she nestled into the couch with the bowl of gooey deliciousness and a glass of red wine. Maggie hopped onto the couch next to her, nosing in behind Bella's legs as she selected her mom's favorite movie from Netflix.

"Happy Halloween, mom." Bella sighed with a bittersweet smile as the opening credits for Halloween played.

By the time the end credits rolled, Bella was snoozing delicately, the movie long-forgotten.


	5. Sure, Sure

When Bella woke up the next morning, she groaned in pain as she attempted to right the stiffness in her neck from sleeping awkwardly on the couch. She heard the bathroom door close quietly and realized that Garrett was up and about.

Bella glanced to the clock that hung over the television. 6:30. She rolled her eyes. Her kid was like a damn alarm clock. Since he was an infant, he never slept in past seven in the morning. It was nice to have another morning person in the house, though.

She smiled to herself as she remembered what a bear Emmett was in the morning, and it was one of the only things that she was glad that her son didn't pick up from him. Bella let out a soft laugh as Garrett talked his way through his morning routine. It was another of her habits that he imitated.

"Gotta wash my hands…gotta brush my teeth…" Although, Garrett was missing his two front teeth, so "teeth" sounded more like "teef." He continued to mumble to himself as he went back to his room. "Clothes…gotta wear clothes." She let out a full belly laugh as she followed him down the hall and back toward her own room to ready herself for the day.

Turning on the shower, she peeled her clothes off and stepped under the warm spray. She sighed contentedly as she took her hair down from the ponytail that it had been relegated to the night before.

Bella took a moment to relax before a long day of work, letting the water cascade over her shoulders and down her soft, feminine body. She turned her face to the water, wincing only slightly as it wetted the cut on her chin. She let the water take off the bulk of the makeup that remained on her eyes, making her look sane once again. There at the end of the night, she was looking more Joker than Robin.

Once she was finished, she dried herself and put on a pair of sweats with a t-shirt and meandered into her bedroom. There, she found Garrett lying on her bed with Maggie, watching cartoons on her television. She grinned at them before moving to her dresser to find clothes for the day.

"Momma! Can I brush your hair?" Garrett gave her a toothless smile. It was always something that Emmett had done for her. She would always get frustrated with the long tresses and quit brushing it before all of the tangles were gone. When Garrett was born, Emmett would brush both hers and Garrett's. Now, Garrett liked to do it. It made both of them feel close to Emmett.

"Sure, bug. Go grab my brush off the counter, would ya?" Garrett nodded and bounded into the bathroom. When he returned, she sat on the floor with her back against the bed. He carefully brushed out her long hair before wrapping his arms around her neck in a tight hug.

"Momma?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think that Jasper will come over for breakfast?" At his question, her head tilted in confusion.

"Who?"

"The nice man that helped me find you last night. He was really nice to me." Garrett said with a smile. She returned his smile, finally being able to put a first name to the man from the night before. She shrugged, not knowing how to explain people to her son.

"Maybe, buddy. Who knows? If he does, we'll make him something really good, okay?" He nodded before jumping up and running down the hall and into the kitchen. She dutifully followed him to make sure that he was getting something decent for breakfast.

Garrett was a fairly independent kid. It was not something that was developed out of necessity, but just his personality. He had his morning routine down pat. It was pretty impressive. She was the same way when she was his age, but hers was because her mom usually forgot breakfast.

She entered the kitchen as he was pulling out a pre-prepped cup of scrambled eggs from the fridge to put in the microwave. Bella gave him a hand by pouring him a cup of juice and gathering his shoes and backpack. Every morning was a little bittersweet for her. Her baby was a first-grader.

Once he had all of his stuff in one spot, she retreated back into her bedroom to get dressed for the day. She pulled on a pair of yoga leggings that had mesh panels to show off her the tattoos on her calves, and a black tank top. Once she was down in the shop, she would put on her chef coat.

She quickly secured her long hair back into a snug Dutch braid and slid a headband on to keep the flyaways at bay. Lastly, she completed her comfy attire with her well-worn Converse, knowing that they were the only thing that she could stand to be on her feet in all day.

She gathered her phone and her treasured tin box of recipes to take down to the bakery that day. Bella was thanking herself for making Mondays her off-days. Trying to restock while being open would be the definition of hell. By the time she was finished getting ready, so was Garrett. His breakfast dishes were in the sink and he was waiting patiently for her in the kitchen.

It was 7:15 by the time they made it to the sidewalk. Maggie was in tow for her morning walk while Bella chaperoned Garrett to his bus stop that was a block down the street. She smiled and waved at a few of the other parents that were out with their children as well. Maggie trotted happily in her harness by Bella's side.

A short time later, Bella was childless and working on making the batter for her famous sugar waffles. The trick, she found out, was to add sugar pearls to the batter. It caramelizes in the waffle iron and gives the waffles a decadent crunch.

The scent of waffles and lavender infused syrup filled the bakery's small kitchen and Bella had to take a step back to admire her handiwork. Maybe one day, she'd have her own restaurant that served more than sweets and the occasional deli sandwich.

"Oh my god. What is that fan-fucking-tastic smell?" Seth cried from the back door of the bakery, startling Bella out of her focused state.

"Oh, you know. Just a little something I whipped up." She grinned at him. He entered the kitchen and took a deep inhale. She'd be surprised if his eyes weren't lodged in the back of his skull. Edward followed Seth in, and Bella smiled at him appreciatively. He'd been giving Seth rides back and forth to work a lot, recently.

"Well, let's eat and then get to it. What are we restocking today, Bells? Let's make a list while we're sitting down and divvy it up." Seth's goofy demeanor switched to his laser-focused pastry chef's. When it came to baking, Seth was all business.

"Grab some plates from the break room and I'll serve it up. I'll start some coffee. Lattes all around?" At their nods, Bella started the ancient espresso machine and started grinding espresso beans.

Soon, the three of them were seated around one of the three dining tables that were situated in the small lobby of the bakery surrounded by empty plates and coffee mugs. Bella was busy scribbling on a legal pad and Seth was nodding along with her.

"So, you get started on the shortbread dough. I'll use it for the Sinewy Shortbreads, and as the crust for the Pickton Pumpkin Tarts. Also, it freezes well, so if we have any leftover, just pop it in the blast freezer." Bella prattled on about the components of what they were going to restock with.

"I also want to work on some Cthulhu Creams, you know the little cream puffs?" At Seth's nod, she continued, "I want to fill them with a mixture of lemon curd and whipped cream, but that could be done last, I don't want the cream puff dough to get tough. I want to make some Dexter themed cupcakes for this week with some broken glass and drops of blood. Be creative with the flavorings. Lemon and lavender have been really popular lately, but feel free to do some blood orange and white chocolate or something. I also want to toss together some severed head pops from any leftover cake and buttercream." Bella rushed her ideas out of her head at a speed that would have confused anyone but Seth. "Any thoughts, questions, concerns?"

She would really be sad to see him go to culinary school whenever he decided to go. They were a well-oiled machine in that bakery.

"I think we should do a couple of Six-Feet-Under Six-Layer Cheesecakes. Those flew out of the case yesterday. Two of them were bought whole. And whatever you put in that cobbler made people go ape-shit. I want to make a couple more batches of the dough for the maple bacon doughnuts, too. People always love those in the morning. I truly think we need to start selling your sugar waffles here, but we can talk about that later. You go ahead and get the cake orders from Edward and get some ideas flowing for that. I got the rest." Seth reassured his boss with a squeeze to the shoulder.

"Alright, kid. Let's get to it. Edward, can you print the orders for me? I want to get the dates for pickup on my calendar." Edward gave her a thumbs-up and sent the orders from his laptop to the wireless printer that was in the breakroom that doubled as her office.

Bella and Seth worked dutifully side-by-side in the kitchen until everything was checked off of her list, taking only a short coffee and sandwich break around noon. The only thing that she would need to do in the morning to open was fry and glaze the doughnuts and fill the cream puffs.

She tiredly plopped into the chair in the breakroom and Seth did the same across from her. Noticing that it was nearing four, she grumbled and made her way back to her sore feet.

"I've gotta go get Garrett from school, he had a club thing after-school today. Want to tag along? I might feed you." She yawned as she made the offer to Seth, stretching her arms over her head. Edward had already gone to his second job, leaving the two of them alone in the bakery.

"Sure, I don't have a whole lot else to do today." He shrugged and mirrored her movements. "I wanted to talk to you anyway."

Bella furrowed her brow, but nodded anyway, going through her lock-up routine and leading Seth out the back door to where her old truck was parked in the reserved space. As they ambled their way to Garrett's school, Bella addressed the elephant in the truck.

"What's on your mind, kid?"

"Are you okay? I mean truly okay?" Seth cocked his head with concern, doing a damn good Maggie impression. If Bella wasn't completely taken off guard, she would have laughed.

"I'm fine, Seth. What brought this on?"

"Bella, I've worked with you nearly every day for months. The only time you actually smile is when it's at Garrett. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here. I may just be a stupid kid, but I'm a good listener. I know you've gone through a lot in the past couple of years, with Emmett and your mom and everything. You've done so much for me, the least I can do is offer to be your verbal punching bag."

Bella's throat was clogged with her tears and her eyes welled up. She pulled into a gas station parking lot before she was unable to see the street in front of her. Was she that obvious? Was her content really not that content?

"I miss him, Seth. It's so hard because Garrett looks exactly like him. He was the only guy that I've ever been in any kind of a relationship with. God, why am I spilling my guts like this? You must think I'm a total lunatic." Bella hiccupped and frustratedly wiped the tears from her eyes. She hadn't cried as much as she had in the past two days in months. Loneliness was getting to her.

Seth gave her a small smile and rubbed her back while she pulled herself together. As embarrassing as breaking down in front of one of your employees was, she did feel better. She gave him a grateful smile and leaned her head back against the headrest.

"You owe me a drink after that, Clearwater." Bella mock scowled at him before allowing her mask to slide back into place. She was fine. Well, she would try harder to act fine.

"Anytime, Bells." Seth beamed at her.

They were back on the road and soon arriving at Garrett's school. He had a Junior Naturalist's meeting that afternoon. It was a club that the school put on to teach the kids about nature. Garrett absolutely loved the club already and it had only been a few months.

Bella and Seth were approaching the doors of the school to collect Garrett, when she spotted a familiar head of wavy blonde hair. She knew those curls! It was Lieutenant Dicklock. She stopped short, hoping to duck behind Seth to hide, but was unable to escape. The gorgeous cop was making a beeline straight for them.

His hand had engulfed that of a tiny blonde girl who was currently yammering away at him about stick bugs. He had his head ducked down and was giving her his rapt attention. _He had kids? What? He doesn't look like he'd have a sweet bone in his body!_ She thought sharply.

Garrett gave her a blessed distraction by emerging from the classroom and nearly bowling Seth over with a hug. Bella smiled at how well her actual son and her surrogate son got along.

Her attention was pulled back toward the blonde man who was making his way toward where they stood at the door.

Garrett decided that this would be the perfect timing to make their presence known by screaming, "Jasper! Hi Jasper! Do you remember me?!" At this point, Bella took the time to actually hide behind Seth.

"Hi Garrett! Of course I remember you! Do you know Katie?" Jasper crouched down to Garrett's level and gestured to the little girl at his side. _Oh, so he's great with kids. Just not frantic, injured mothers._ Bella rolled her eyes so hard that she thought she could hear them.

Bella took a deep breath and crept out from her hiding spot and called out to Garrett. "Hey, bug, we've got to get going." Garrett gave her a puppy-dog pout over having to leave his new police officer friend.

"Hi Lieutenant. Does your daughter go here?" Bella inquired politely, hoping to avoid the snappishness that she encountered last night.

"Hello," he afforded her a small smile, "No, this is my niece Kate. I think she and your son are in the same class." His smile widened as he noticed the two kids chatting at each other animatedly.

"Thank you again for your help last night. I was going out of my mind." Bella attempted to smooth things over with the officer. He seemed far more at ease today. "I was serious about the offer for breakfast. Garrett would absolutely love it if you came by the shop sometime."

Jasper gave her a somewhat wider smile. "I'll do that sometime." He called to Kate and they left the building with a wave to Bella and Garrett.

When they were all back in the truck, Seth turned to Bella with a smirk. "You like him."

Bella's cheeks flushed without her permission and she turned toward him. "I do not. I was being polite. Garrett has some kind of hero worship thing going on. I'm just trying to be nice."

Seth nodded, still smirking. "Sure, sure."


End file.
